How to get your seller to sign when they won't use DocuSign

A signature gap is one of the most frustrating ways to lose a deal, because nothing is actually wrong — the seller wants to sell, you want to buy, and the paperwork is done. The holdup is a format problem, not a deal problem. Solve the format and the deal closes. Below are the four approaches that work, roughly in order of how much friction they remove for the seller.

Why sellers refuse e-signature

It helps to understand what's really going on, because the fix depends on the reason. In our experience the resistance usually comes down to one of these:

• Distrust of links. "Click here to sign" reads like a phishing scam to a lot of people — especially older sellers who've been warned about exactly that.
• It feels less real. Selling a house is a big deal. A wet signature on paper feels binding in a way a mouse click doesn't.
• Technology friction. No smartphone, a shared email, a full inbox, or simply not being comfortable navigating a signing app.
• They want to read it first. Some sellers want to hold the pages and go through them at their own pace, maybe with a family member.

None of these mean the seller is backing out. They mean the signing method is the obstacle. Meet them where they are and the deal moves.

Option 1: Print, sign, scan

The lowest-tech option, and often the fastest for a seller who just wants paper. You send a clean PDF, they print it, sign in ink, and send it back. To make it actually work:

• Send a print-ready PDF with every signature and initial line clearly marked — tab or highlight them so nothing gets missed.
• Number the pages and tell them exactly how many there are, so no page comes back unsigned.
• Give them an easy return path — a photo of each page from their phone is usually fine, or a prepaid overnight envelope if you need crisp originals.
• Check it immediately for missing initials, skipped pages, or an unsigned addendum before you rely on it.

The weakness of print-sign-scan is quality control: missing initials and blurry scans are common, and if the document needs to be notarized to be recorded, a mailed-back signature doesn't solve that. For those, keep reading.

Option 2: A mobile notary at the kitchen table

When the document needs to be notarized — or the seller simply wants a person there — a mobile notary can come to the seller's home. A commissioned notary brings the document, confirms the seller's identity, witnesses the signature, and notarizes it on the spot.

This is a great fit when:

• The document has to be notarized to be recorded (deeds, some affidavits, a memorandum's certificate).
• The seller is elderly, homebound, or just more comfortable signing at home.
• You want a neutral third party to confirm the signature actually happened.

Your title company or a national notary directory can find one; expect a flat fee plus travel, typically $125–175. Jurably doesn't dispatch mobile notaries — see how mobile notaries work and online notarization, explained.

Option 3: In-person signing

Sometimes the seller doesn't need a notary — they just need a human being to sit down with them, put the pages in front of them, and make sure every line gets signed. That's especially true for a purchase agreement or assignment that has a dozen signature and initial fields scattered across it.

Historically, that meant you driving out — which doesn't scale, and isn't always possible if the property is in another market. The alternative is a signing service: loan-signing agents and courier-style signing companies send someone who knows which fields need ink and won't leave until the document is complete. Your title company will know who they use.

The part most people miss: the memorandum needs only your signature

Everything above is about the purchase contract — the one document that genuinely needs the seller's ink, and the one Jurably requires to be fully signed before it files anything. The document Jurably actually records, the memorandum of contract, is different: in every state Jurably files in, the buyer signs it alone (states that require the seller's signature aren't offered).

• You sign it, with a licensed online notary, in one session — usually five minutes or less.
• The seller is notified, by certified mail with return receipt, not asked to sign.
• The county records it, and you get the recorded copy with its instrument number.

So once the contract is signed, the reluctant-signer problem is over. Nobody has to get your seller on camera to put your contract on record.

Make it easy on the seller

Whichever route you take, the deals that close are the ones where the seller feels zero friction. A few habits that consistently help:

• Meet them where they're comfortable — their home, their schedule, their preferred format. Don't make them adapt to your tools.
• Explain what they're signing in plain terms — what the document is and what happens next. (Answer their questions honestly; if they ask for legal advice, that's a lawyer's job, not yours.)
• Reduce the steps to one. Every extra action — print, find a printer, scan, mail — is a chance for the deal to stall. The best method is the one that asks the least of the seller.
• Give them a real person to talk to. A lot of "I don't want to sign electronically" is really "I want to know a human is behind this."

The signature is almost never where a deal actually dies — it's where a deal gets stuck. Pick the method that fits your seller, remove the friction, and the deal you already earned closes.

Jurably is a self-help service, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. Always work from a genuine, fully executed contract.